


The Rose and the Rogues

by theMissingLynx



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, but it's based on a hybrid of new forest england and appalacha new york, specifically one based off of warriorsredux
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:22:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27371134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theMissingLynx/pseuds/theMissingLynx
Summary: Thunderclan deputy Rosepath is sent out to investigate the rogues gathering on the western border. She instead discovers something more surprising.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	The Rose and the Rogues

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dullard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dullard/gifts).



Rosepath relaxed in the cooling dusk, soaking in the last rays of sunshine. She already sent out a few patrols that day, two for hunting and another for checking the western border.

“Rosepath,” a low feminine meow called behind her.

“Yes, Ma’am?”

A black molly with a bad eye situated herself next to her, her one mossy green eye staring at the sunset. "I want you to arrange a patrol beyond the borders. Investigate the growing rogue scent."

Rosepath lifted her head. "How many should I take?"

"Four in total. Take cats who are skilled, but won't provoke a fight."

"Any cats you want on the patrol?"

Deadstar yawned and scratched her face. "Shrikeclaw in particular. The others are up to you."

"Molewhisker and Dewnose are my choices."

"Good choices. I believe Shrikeclaw and Dewnose are in camp."

"Molewhisker is out on a hunting patrol. I'll send Cherryfoot to fetch him." She watched Spottedkit and Snakekit wrestle in front of the nursery, the pregnant Shrikeclaw watching them from the cool shade. The new queen had only just recently started smelling pregnant, but she wasn't fully settled into the nursery. "We will leave as soon as possible, Ma'am."

"Thank you."

* * *

“I just smelled something,” Dewnose said in a hushed tone. Rosepath bristled too. The wind had briefly shifted to blow a familiar scent in their direction. It smelled of Thunderclan, so no immediate danger.

“Reveal yourself!” she growled into the creeping darkness.

The leaves only rustled from the wind. After a few heartbeats, a reddish-brown paw stepped out of a cluster of bracken. His head emerged from the foliage a second later, his ears low and amber gaze filled with shame as he slowly trotted towards the patrol. “I… I um… sorry…”

“Alderpaw?” Molewhisker muttered.

"You shouldn't have come!" Rosepath hissed at the smaller than average apprentice. She felt a smidge of remorse as his fur fluffed up to hide himself in his thick pelt. She released the tension in her voice; yelling at an apprentice was pointless.

"I…" Alderpaw squeaked. He cleared his throat, swallowed, then said again in a less wobbly and quiet voice, "I'm sorry… I'll go back to camp."

Rosepath stared at him. She sighed, then said, "Fine, you can come along. If any apprentice had to tag along, I'm glad it was you." She turned to one of the cats in her patrol. "Dewnose, keep an eye on him."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Ma'am," the reddish-brown tom said.

Rosepath nodded. "Let's get going. We've already wasted enough time."

* * *

The patrol had been out of Thunderclan territory for some while now. The scent of rogues grew thick, but it had an unusual amount of consistency to it.

“I don’t like this,” Shrikeclaw muttered.

Molewhisker tasted the air. “There’s a vaguely familiar scent here… One from a long time ago.”

Rosepath did agree the scent was one she’d smelled before, but she couldn’t remember who it belonged to.

“Greetings, friends,” an airy purr echoed from one of the branches above.

The patrol looked up to find a silver tabby perched on a low oak branch, her feathery tail neatly folded around her paws. In one of the nearby branches, two other cats - one a black tortie and white molly no older than Alderpaw, the other a blue-gray tom - sat beside each other, watching the patrol.

“Who are you?” Rosepath demanded.

The silver tabby gave a little nod. “I am Echosong,” she said with that airy mew. “I foresaw your arrival.”

“That’s a name…” Shrikeclaw muttered under her breath.

“She smells like a kittypet,” Dewnose whispered to Molewhisker and Rosepath.

Rosepath nodded. “We’re looking for a band of rogues that have formed in this region. Do you know anything about them?”

Echosong nodded back. “That’s why I’ve come to greet you. I’m here to take you to our camp.”

Rosepath looked among her cats. Shrikeclaw gave a single nod. As did Dewnose. No apparent danger yet.

“Lead the way, Echosong.”

* * *

The walk through the strange group’s territory was rather tense. Shrikeclaw and Dewnose were on the alert for ambushes and Molewhisker seemed uncharacteristically nervous. Alderpaw seemed somewhat calm, so Rosepath assured herself that they were in less danger than her warriors expected.

With the two other cats taking the lead, Echosong fell into step beside Rosepath, who was taking up the rear of the group. “I don’t believe I’ve acquainted you with my friends and I do apologize for not doing so.” She gestured to the cats ahead. “The tom is Rainfur and the molly is Cherrypaw.”

Rosepath caught a quiet, “What?” from Molewhisker and Dewnose, followed by Shrikeclaw hissing them into silence. The ginger molly mused over this — she hadn’t heard of any cats with those names leaving the clans, nor did they seem to carry any notable clan traits. Cherrypaw  _ was _ somewhat plump, but she lacked the sturdy body of Riverclan cats. Rainfur was tall like Windclan cats, but much more filled out and too muscley to be one. Their scents carried no trace of formerly being in the clans, only the musk of foreign forests and… was that human stench on the molly?

“We’re here,” Rainfur said, standing beside a curtain of ivy. Cherrypaw and Rainfur stepped in first, followed by Dewnose and Alderpaw, then Shrikeclaw, Molewhisker, and Echosong and Rosepath.

The camp was well-sheltered, surrounded by thick underbrush on one side and sheer rocks on the other. Moonlight filtered in through the canopy, dappling the clearing in silver and black. Several cats were sitting about, talking, grooming one another, or nodding off in the moonlight. Along the cliff were a few paths that led into crevices in the face.

“Rainfur!” A mostly white cat with gray ears, legs, nose, and tail dashed up to Rainfur and bumped heads with him in an oddly affectionate manner. Rainfur purred, pressing his face against hers. She smelled pregnant, and Rosepath had a strong guess for the father of the kits.

“Good, you’re back,” a dark ginger tom said.

“The rose has bloomed and I hope to present her to our leader,” Echosong purred.

Out of the corner of her eye, Alderpaw shot the strange silver cat a surprised look, twisted with bewildered understanding.

“…Right,” the dark tom said. “I’ll go fetch her.”

As he walked off to climb the cliff path, Echosong turned back to Rosepath. “Forgive Sharpclaw, the barbed wire is closing about his neck and he won’t be able to fly when it finally clasps on.”

Alderpaw shot her another surprised stare, this time adding a quiet, “…Wait…” Then his face turned thoughtful.

“Soooo…” Molewhisker said, earning himself a glare from Shrikeclaw. “How did you guys come to live here?”

Echosong spun around on one of her forepaws in an elegant manner, then pranced away, gesturing the others to follow. “I don’t know how our fearless leader came to settle the first few cats here, but I can at least recount how I came to live among these wonderful cats.”

“Do tell,” Rosepath said, watching Cherrypaw return to other cats her age and younger. The three other cats watched the outsiders with curious, but not hostile gazes.

The silver tabby stopped by a stream trickling in from a little hole in the rock and took a drink beside an old dark gray tom. The old tom gave her a small, sweet smile, then returned to his drinking. When Echosong finished, she laid down beside the stream and gestured for the others to drink if they wished. Only Alderpaw took up the offer.

“Well,” she said, licking her lips clean of water. “It all began with this old tom. One day I was looking out the window of my human’s home—”

“Wait, your  _ human _ ?” Shrikeclaw echoed.

“Indeed,” she said. “Is there a problem?”

The gray and white molly paused, then said, “No. Carry on.”

“So I was looking out the window of my human’s home and I saw the sky light up. I didn’t quite know what it meant at the time, but I remained alert for its meaning. Some time later, this old tom was making a ruckus outside my house. When I heard his cries, I knew that it had something to do with the sky lighting up. When one of my humans opened the door to likely shoo him off, I took the opportunity to escape and we dashed away together.

“We walked for many days until we found a river, then followed it to the highland southward. We both rested by a beautiful pool, and in the morning, we were found and recruited by our beloved leader.” She smiled and placed a dainty paw on the dark gray tom’s much larger paw. “This is Skywatcher, and he helped me attune my visions during our travels.”

The old tom gave the outsiders a smile and a nod, returned in part by some of them and in full by Molewhisker and Alderpaw.

“I’m glad the two of you came, else we’d lack a seer,” a new voice chimed in. “We would be lost without your guidance.”

Rosepath and the others turned towards the new speaker. Her scent and image and voice unearthed a memory from her days as a young warrior, seeing a pale torbie learn the ways of the clan, then her move into Windclan, then once again in Shadowclan, then again in Riverclan, then disappearing for over a year.

Until she appeared again.

“Leaf?” Rosepath gasped.

“It’s Leaf _ star _ now,” the light brown and cream torbie corrected.

Molewhisker’s jaw dropped, Shrikeclaw shouted, “ _ WHAT? _ ”, and Rosepath stared at the torbie in shock. Dewnose and Alderpaw exchanged confused glances.

“Oh? So you’re already acquainted with our fearless leader?” Echosong asked.

“Somewhat,” Rosepath said.

Leafstar flicked her tail. “Echosong told me you’d come.”

“A rose carried by the half-blind raven with yew in its belly,” Echosong added. “The great storm held by its wings.”

Alderpaw stared at the silver tabby with worry. “There’s yew in the raven’s belly?”

Rosepath ignored the seer chatter. “We were sent to investigate the growing presence of rogues.”

“Rogues…” Leafstar echoed. “Such a strong word for cats who aren’t even bothering you.”

“Then why are you here?” Rosepath asked.

“Isn’t it clear? I’m making a clan.”

None of the outsiders spoke for several heartbeats.

Shrikeclaw burst out laughing, surprising several cats beside her. “By the Three, you  _ cannot _ be serious!  _ Making a clan! _ ”

Leafstar flicked an ear. “If the Crone can do it, so can I.”

“A rather brazen notion,” Rosepath said.

“They’re curious about how you came to found this wonderful clan,” Echosong added. “Please indulge them.”

The pale brown torbie purred a chuckle. “Very well.” She gestured for the outsiders to follow her through the camp. “When we started out, there were just five of us. Myself, Sharpclaw here, Rainfur and his mate Petalnose, and our current queen Clovertail. It’s been a little over a moon now and my excursions into the houses west of here have brought up our total of cats to sixteen, minus Clovertail’s kits.”

“So most of these cats were former kittypets?” Rosepath asked.

“Yes, though some like Sharpclaw and Clovertail were simple loners wishing for the stability of a group.”

Rosepath scrutinized the torbie. Alderpaw didn't seem disturbed, nor did Leafstar seem to hide anything - or even seem to want to hide anything. Was she a deceptive cat striving for more power, a mere fool with naive aspirations, or did she truly have proper motives and methods?

"I'd like you to meet our apprentices," Leafstar said as she turned around, breaking Rosepath's musing. "I could never remember your strange naming conventions, but from what I remember of your warrior ceremony, -path means you have an inclination for apprentices. How many have you taught in your seasons?"

"I'm mentoring my third apprentice."

Leafstar gave an approving nod. "Excellent, excellent."

They stood by a small den, surrounded by rock and hidden with foliage. Cherrypaw chatted with a larger ginger tom and a small white molly with a brown face, ears, legs, and tail. Inside the den, a dark brown tabby huddled against a mossy rock in a doze. The spotted brown molly wasn't there.

With a sweep of her tail, Leafstar introduced them. "Apprentices, this is Rosepath and her fellow Thunderclan cats."

The young cats stared at the five strangers.

In a blur of brown and white, the little molly playfully pounced towards Rosepath, then rolled on her side with her paws playfully swatting the air. “I like you!” she purred.

Despite the faux pas the enthusiastic kitten committed, the pale ginger molly smiled and placed a paw on the kitten’s head. She always liked the energetic kittens; this one reminded her of her own apprentice, Sparkpaw. “What’s your name, little one?”

The apprentice’s sky blue eyes glinted with joy. “Tiny.”

The larger tom sighed. “You’re Tiny _ paw _ now.”

“Oh! Right!” Tinypaw mewed a giggle. “I’m Tinypaw! And that’s Cherrypaw-”

“They already met me,” Cherrypaw said.

“And this is Bouncepaw!” the little apprentice continued, ignoring her denmate’s retort. “And over there is Sparrowpaw. Frecklepaw’s around here somewhere, probably staring at some rocks or something. That’s what seers do, right?”

Rosepetal heard Alderpaw stifle a chuckle.

“You learning a lot about living in a clan?” she asked.

Tinypaw nodded. “Yeah! Milkymoon’s been teaching me how to hide in the foliage with my pelt so I don’t stick out as much!” She sprung out in a sloppy pounce at Rosepath’s forelegs, but the pale ginger molly was caught on the name the apprentice dropped.

“Milkymoon?”

“Oh! That reminds me! He promised me he’d show me a cool new hunting technique today! Gotta go!” Tinypaw dashed out of the tangle of idling cats. “Nice to meet you, Thunderclan!”

“Aaaand there she goes,” Bouncepaw said.

Shrikeclaw leaned into Rosepath’s ear. “I think we should go too,” she murmured.

“Delighted as we are to stay for longer, it’d be best we return home,” Rosepath said.

“I’ll be glad to escort you to the border myself,” Leafstar added. She turned to Cherrypaw. “Go fetch Patchesfoot and Ebonyclaw, they’re to help escort Rosepath and her clanmates to the border.”

Rosepath gave a curt nod. “Thank you, but we’ll manage.”

“Oh no, I insist!” the torbie said, giving a little bow. “It’d be my honor.”

* * *

The journey back to the border remained mostly silent. Rosepath sensed the Thunderclan cats weren’t interested in speaking and the cats from the other clan were unsure of what to talk about.

All but one of them, at least.

“The Gathering will happen soon, yes?” Leafstar said, falling into step beside Rosepath, who took up the back of the patrol once again.

The ginger molly nodded. “Within a quarter-moon.”

Leafstar looked forward at the other cats of the patrol, smiling. “This will be our first Gathering we’ll attend. We did exist during the last Gathering, but it was just Sharpclaw, Rainfur, Petalnose, Clovertail, and myself, hardly anything worth to announce ourselves with.” She looked at Rosepath with bright amber eyes. “But now there’s sixteen of us! And we’ll be a proper clan alongside Thunderclan and Windclan and Shadowclan and Riverclan!” She purred and did a little skip. “Just thinking about it is making me so giddy!”

Rosepath didn’t acknowledge the somewhat kittish behavior as she found herself stuck on a question. “Leafstar, have you given your clan a name?”

“Oh, yes! I have! I gave it much thought and consideration, especially when it came to the placement of camp and how it fits with our name.”

Rosepath noted her own cats in the patrol seemed to be listening in on the cats taking in the back. She gave a nod to the torbie to prompt her on.

“We are Skyclan.”

**Author's Note:**

> Allegiances
> 
> Thunderclan  
> Leader - Deadstar - black molly with one mossy green eye (Hollyleaf)  
> Deputy - Rosepath - pale ginger molly with hazel eyes (Rosepetal)  
> Seer Apprentice - Alderpaw - reddish-brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
> Mentioned Warriors  
> Shrikeclaw - gray tabby and white molly with gold eyes, currently expecting (Ivypool)  
> Molewhisker - warm light brown tom with hazel eyes  
> Dewnose - pale gray and white spotted tabby tom with green eyes
> 
> The Other Group  
> Leader - Leafstar - light brown and cream torbie molly with amber eyes  
> Deputy - Sharpclaw - dark ginger tom with amber eyes  
> Seer - Echosong - silver tabby molly with pale green eyes  
> Seer Apprentice - Frecklepaw - spotted brown molly  
> Mentioned Warriors  
> Rainfur - blue-gray tom  
> Petalnose - blue point molly  
> Clovertail - warm brown molly with a paler underside and white feet and muzzle  
> Milkymoon - seal point tom (Harveymoon)  
> Patchesfoot - patched black and white tom  
> Ebonyclaw - black molly  
> Apprentices  
> Cherrypaw - tortoiseshell molly  
> Sparrowpaw - dark brown tabby tom  
> Bouncepaw - large ginger tom  
> Tinypaw - chocolate point molly  
> Mentioned Elder  
> Skywatcher - old dark blue-gray tom


End file.
